So much different; so much the same

Sunday evening is upon us - a weekend packed with days full of activities is coming to a close. Wow, we have so much to share but will need to parcel it out so that the postings are not too long.

We (Germany, Switzerland and various other EU countries) celebrated Sankt Nikolas day was last Thursday. He comes to deliver small presents into childrens shoes: traditionally chocolate (big suprise there...) oranges and nuts. He goes from house to house in towns and villages, reading from a list the good and bad things each child has done. All of the students at RIA left their shoes outside their classrooms (including the teachers and staff) and found a nice gift in the morning! When one pre-schooler found a chocolate Euro coin in his shoe, he proudly stated that he would put the coin in his piggy bank! At Bible study Thursday night, our hosts had small St. Nikolas chocolates for everyone - and it is so impolite to refuse...

The staff and student's at RIA have been preparing for the last month and a half for our Christmas play: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever! which we presented to families and friends on Friday evening. Our students did a super job! From the smallest preschool child to our middle school actors, it came off really well. The parents loved it! The play tells the story of a family of unruly children that barge in to take over the roles of a traditional Christmas program but the power of the story of Jesus' birth changes the children and those who see it. Michael played a small part as the Church's pastor, Rev. Hopkins, and was the backstage technician (sound, lights, props, curtains, etc.). Delynn take care of the money end of things and helped serve the hospitality (lots of goodies for the families). The teachers were also surprised by our parent/teacher organization that presented Christmas presents to each staff member. Delynn and I were given gift cards for our favorite Italian restaurant, book stores that have english books, shopping at stores with names you have never heard and a Swiss iTunes card (we can't use iTunes cards from the states because they can only be legally used in the U.S.). Well, by the time we got everything cleaned up and packed off to school, it was way late and Delynn and I had a train to catch Saturday morning to visit our cousins in Bohlsbach.

Aren't they precious! (This is the pre-school, not the staff...)

The Rev. Hopkins outlines the many problems with the pageant to Grace (our good friend Anne)

BTW: like my haircut? Delynn did it...

Here are some pictures from our trip to visit Theo and Elisabeth on Saturday. The two-hour train trip from Weil a. R. to Offenburg on Saturday morning was uneventful (the train back at 9pm was much more boisterous!) We got to enjoy the best schnitzel in the world!! I tell you, my cousin Elisabeth makes the most wonderful schnitzel. I remembered it from our last visit and she showed us her special techniques - the way her family has made it as far back as memory goes. We savored the schnitzel and german potato salad (They just call it potato salad here...) before heading off to the woods - and what beautiful woods they are...

We all four merrily hiked up to the Ritterhof Christbaumhof (a farm that grows and sells Christmas trees) - I think that between Theo and Elisabeth, they must have known over half of the people there! We enjoyed a small smackeral with some of their friends from Bohlsbach who were also there; the farm had Alpenhorns playing, hearty lentil soup, several different types of liverwurst and brats and the local high school selling hand-made items. Delynn and I purchased a small straw star to hang on our front door. As the sun began to set and the tempeatures dropped, we scurried back down to the car and drove to a neighboring town for their quite famous Christmas market (Weinachtsmarkt).

The town of Gengenbach has many original 14th and 15th century town square buildings intact. Theo mentioned that it is often used as a backdrop for period movies. The Weinachtsmarkt was alive with booths, activities and of course food! We walked and ate our way around the market. These pictures give a little feel for our adventuresome day! These pictures would not be possible without Delynn, who dutifully stood and allowed me to use her head as a tripod to steady the camera for long exposures (some as long a 1 second! - that is why the people are so blurry).

Beautiful Fachwerkhäuser (Half-timbered house)

A city tower highlights the festive scene
Delynn, Theo and Elisabeth - what great family!

We want to return to Gengenbach in the spring when we can enjoy the city in daylight! It is so beautiful.

We thought that this Christmas, things would go a little slower since we are staying here in our new home and not returning to the States, but we are so, so wrong. Our schedules here are just as jam-packed full of great celebrations of Jesus' birth as they were last year. We hope we will have the time to think... We also hope that you will greatly enjoy this celebration of the Advent season and that the reality of Jesus coming to earth will fill your Christmas with joy.